


Secret Mermaid

by Avanalae



Category: Batman (Comics), 海賊と人魚 - 木内たつや | Kaizoku to Ningyo - Kiuchi Tatsuya
Genre: Explosions, Gen, Kidnapping, M/M, Pre-Slash, Rescue Missions, mermaid Tim, pairing implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 05:18:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15812190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avanalae/pseuds/Avanalae
Summary: Crossover with Kaizoku to Ningyo, based in DCU. Tim is secretly a mermaid, but not the typical and fantastical kind.





	1. Secret Mermaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim has kept it a secret for many long years, but he lets down his guard for one moment and it’s over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted January 2012.

One of Tim’s abilities that absolutely no one knows about is his skill with dyes. He makes them last longer and healthier for the hair, for the reason that he needs to use it so often.

His kind has been forgotten for so long, and he intends for it to stay that way.

But sometimes he wishes he didn’t have to worry and could take a chance…

To see the color of his hair.

_

“We’re going to the beach, Tim! Want to join us?” Dick’s all smiles, as usual, and has Tim wrapped in a tight hug.

“Sorry, I have too much to do, Dick,” Tim manages to say, letting the man hug him in the hopes that it will make it easier to accept that Tim won’t go.

“Tt. You never go. What, are you scared of water, Drake?” Damian curls his lips in a sneer.

“You know very well that I’m not.” Tim lightly pushes against Dick’s chest and the man lets him go. “Have fun with Bruce. I’ll see you later.”

Dick’s obviously sad, but he nods and manages a smile anyway, “Alright. See you later.” He turns and leads Damian away with him, leaving Tim alone in the house with Alfred. He tucks a lock of hair behind his ear and makes his way to the cave. He might as well get some work done while they’re gone.

_

Tim is always glad for the chance to go through Bruce’s resources. They are so much more extensive than his are and he takes the opportunity to copy the information for himself. He knows Bruce doesn’t mind, considering the note that had been left for him.

He appreciates permission, even though he could have hacked in anyway.

He’s reading a file about a serial murder case when suddenly there’s a loud screech and the computers light up red. Tim jumps from the chair, the momentum carrying it several feet away.

That doesn’t matter, though.

It’s Bruce’s, Dick’s, and Damian’s emergency transmissions.

Tim hits the switch to stop the sound and immediately opens a com line. He shouts at the screens, fingers darting over the keyboard, pulling up maps and signals, “Batman! What’s going on?! _Batman!_ Robin! Nightwing!”

He finally picks up their embedded transmitters and it seems they actually made it to the beach. He pulls up all the possible cameras and the only thing he manages to see what might be a small crowd surrounded by… tentacles. Tim cringes. Perhaps a sea monster of some sort.

Tim knows that Alfred is on his way, as he is always alerted when these things happen. So he runs off to change quickly. When he comes back out, fully attired but with the cowl down, Alfred is there.

“Alfred, something seems to have happened at the beach and I’m on my way there.” He grabs some extra equipment, “Could you stay and watch the computers? Keep me updated?” Tim puts in the com and then pulls up the cowl.

“Of course, Master Timothy.”

“Thank you,” Tim manages before jumping onto his bike. His heart is racing as he steers out of the cave, a thousand thoughts and plans running through his mind. The alarm wouldn’t have gone off unless they were in dire condition. It was set to go off if the person’s vitals turned to dangerous levels. The only problem was that it didn’t specify what exactly was causing the reaction.

For a day of relaxation, they wouldn’t have taken the usual extensive repertoire, possibly not even their suits. They might be in the car they took, but first they would have to get to it. From what he saw, they were possibly being held as hostages by some villain. What they wanted, though, Tim doesn’t know so he directs that question to Alfred over the com.

He’s nearly at the beach when Alfred comes through, “Master Timothy, it would seem that Junkyard Dog had managed to make a device that could control sea life.”

“Of course,” Tim groans.

“Indeed. It seems that he’s just trying to cause a disturbance. However, he may try something more.”

“Thank you, Alfred,” Tim says and pulls into an alleyway. Moving stealthily, he makes his way closer to the scene on foot. Once JD is in his sight, Tim considers what to do. He needs to disarm the man, before he can do anything to harm the small crowd of people. Luckily, it seems that the only creature is the… large octopus that’s surrounding everyone with its tentacles. Tim can estimate where the main body is from the flow of water.

Plan formed, Tim dives in, using his grapple to grab JD’s arm and the device falls. It lands intact in the sand and Tim knocks down the silly villain. He points and the group of people, subtly led by Bruce, Dick, and Damian, flee through the opening. Tim binds Junkyard Dog with some zipstrips and turns to the device.

Only to be encountered by a mass of writing tentacles. Tim glances to the weapon to see what may have happened, but a sudden impact and loss of ground distracts him. He’s flung a rather great distance into the ocean, splashing in a part deep enough to not injure him too badly.

The only thing he feels is _dread_.

Breaking the surface, he coughs and treads water. Bruce and Damian had come back, dressed in their gear. Batman was fending off the tentacles while Damian dealt with the device.

By the time he makes it to shore, they’ve finished and the octopus is slinking back to the deep sea. Also, Dick is waiting for him and the man frantically drags him onto the beach. Tim is pulled to rest against Dick, who is sitting down and starts to cradle him, “Oh, Tim. Are you alright?”

Tim pants, but nods his head, relaxing against his brother.

Until the man reaches for his cowl.

Dick looks vaguely hurt when Tim jumps back, stopping him from getting very far with a hug, “Come on, little brother. It’s alright. No one’s around and it looks like you got water in your cowl.”

He continues to fight, but it’s futile. The leather is pulled back and Tim closes his eyes. He hears Dick gasp and Bruce and Damian, who had been jogging over to them, stop in their tracks.

“Tim, what-?”

“Drake, what is wrong with you?” Tim opens his eyes in time to see Bruce slap a gloved hand over the boy’s mouth. The large man is staring at him, knowledge in his eyes.

“Mermaid.”

Tim flinches at the Batman voice revealing his secret. He bows his head, a strand of hair falling in front of his eyes.

Scarlet.

“Submerged in seawater, their true hair color is revealed.”

No matter what he had done, if he was in seawater, no dye could hide his hair. He could hide the common-day white, but wet he could hide nothing.

“Mermaids. Not the kind with scales but instead a human, with special characteristics.”

Of course Bruce would know.

Tim curls up, wishing he could hide.

But it’s too late.


	2. Trapped Mermaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra’s gets his hands on Tim. The others go to Jason for help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted January 2012.

It had been relatively calm in the mansion, perhaps too calm after what had happened.

Tim hadn’t stopped Bruce from filling in Dick and Damian on the situation. What could he have done? And it’s his family. Now that it’s out they might as well know the whole story.

Tim hadn’t dyed his hair back yet, mostly because someone had hidden his dyes. He also wasn’t being let near the disguise closet. Due to his hair, he hadn’t been able to leave the house to go to his apartment and use the stuff there. He rests his chin on his knees, curling up even more into the couch.

Were they trying to torture him?

Why were they keeping him here like this?

Tim buries his face against his knees.

_

Dick became more and more protective.

Damian… well, Tim wasn’t sure if the expressions the boy made were that of disgust or curiosity. Possibly both.

Bruce hadn’t really changed much.

Alfred had a glint in his eye and it made Tim wonder if the man had known – or suspected – all along. …He tries not to dwell on it.

He’d found his dyes in the bathroom again, however, after a few days had passed.

So he went about his life, dealing with his family’s changes and blocking the event from his mind.

_

But one morning, Tim was getting ready to go out to meet a friend. He’d showered and dressed, as usual, and eaten some eggs and ham for breakfast with a glass of orange juice. He took a gulp of his coffee, made from his favorite brand of beans that he grinds himself, and started to walk to his room…

And that’s all he remembers.

_

It’s dark, possibly because his eyes are closed, but he can tell that the lights are dim, wherever he is.

Trying to scan his surroundings brings nothing but the soft sound of running water and salty air.

Salty…

Tim shifts and focuses: it smells like seawater.

He finally opens his eyes.

And he chokes back a cry.

It’s a huge glass  _cage_.

It’s perfectly clear on all sides, at least a good 6 inches thick, and Tim can see the room he’s in is not unlike a miniature ballroom. The… cage is closest to the wall furthest away from the door, like a display just waiting for the party.

He gathers the courage to look down.

Water.

Seawater.

It’s about 4 feet deep, he estimates, and would submerse most of his body. In the middle of this, is a large rock; a sculpture that curls fancifully with several flat sections.

Tim’s on one of them.

It’s covered in furs, with what feels like a padded surface of some sort between the rock and the furs to make it even more comfortable. There’s a waterfall coming from one of them, decorated to look natural and rather beautiful. The others have different things on them, but he doesn’t care enough to look more closely.

He looks at himself.

And he doesn’t know whether to shout in anger or cry in embarrassment.

All he’s wearing clothing-wise is a glorified loincloth. It fits more like a skimpy pair of panties. His dignity is somewhat retained by the long strips of fabric falling down the front and back. It’s white, embroidered with gold, silver, red, and blue, and reaches his calves. It’s ridiculously feminine.

But not quite as much as the jewelry he’s covered in. Anklets, fine chain belts, necklaces, bracelets, a choker (collar, his mind cries), wrist cuffs… Tim reaches up and yes, even earrings. His hands go up farther and feel decorations in his hair. It’s all silver or white gold, red gems scattered among them.

 _This is exactly what he had feared_.

_

He’s not sure how much time has passed – his internal clock is out of whack – but he’s pretty sure it’s exactly five minutes after however long it took to compose himself that the door opens.

Tim is curled up on his side, facing the door, and so he simply opens his eyes when he hears it. His fists clench when he sees who it is.

“Ra’s.”

“Good to see you away, my Detective,” Ra’s casually makes his way up to the glass.

Tim glares fiercely, not moving otherwise.

“Now don’t be that way. You should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you?” Tim bares his teeth, “For what?”

Ra’s smile shouldn’t even be called such, “That I left you alone for so long. It was difficult, restraining myself, but I managed.”

Tim’s mind aches with the sudden implications and he sits up, “Wait… You… You  _knew_?”

“Of course I did, dear songbird,” Tim twitches at the nickname, “Why else do you think I left you alone after you so cleverly proved yourself to me?”

“Obviously my hope that you had grown tired of me is groundless.”

Ra’s chuckles, “Oh, Timothy. You really don’t know me very well if you honestly thought that.”

Tim looks away. He truly had hoped Ra’s to leave him alone after ruining him like that. He still considered the possibility that Ra’s hadn’t moved on, but… He  _had_ hoped.

“You were always oddly beautiful. Your fighting and thinking is smooth and natural, it flows like water in you. Your intelligence so surpasses those you surround yourself with. I always wondered how you could be so intriguing.” Ra’s places a hand on the glass, “So I watched you. Tested you. And you overcame every obstacle; passed every test… And then I found a tome from ages past and I remembered.”

Tim bites his lip.

Ra’s watches the action, “You see, I remember those days. When mermaids were discovered. When they became treasures. Pets.” Tim – doesn’t quite flinch. “And I remember when they seemed to die out; fade away and become nothing more than legend. A slowly forgotten legend.

“But then you come along.” Ra’s smirks and slowly rakes his gaze over Tim, making the boy cross his arms over his chest in a defensive gesture. “Your ability to hide is very impressive. How unfortunate that it should be revealed in a ridiculous manner, even just to your ‘family.’” Tim’s eyes widen fractionally.

“Oh yes, I saw what happened that day,” Ra’s chuckles.

“…What exactly do you want, Ra’s?” Tim manages not to stutter.

Ra’s flicks his wrist, opening his palm towards Tim, “You, of course.”

_This is everything he had been dreading._

_

Dick slams his fists against the table before crossing his arms and resting his head on them. His words are muffled when he speaks, “ _Why_?”

Even Damian, who never really liked Tim, looked a bit worn out.

Bruce is at the computer, tirelessly searching for Tim.

They’ve run into every dead end, with nowhere to go. The last place they can track them to is Istanbul, but after that they disappear.

There’s a harsh scrape and a clatter. Bruce and Damian look and see Dick standing, the chair he’d been sitting on tipped over.

“ _Jason!_ ” Dick yells, and stares at Bruce, “Maybe Jason has something!”

Bruce winces, but stays silent for several moments. Then he nods, “Dick, take Damian with you and go see if you can get anything from him. I’ll monitor you from here.”

The two nod and run off to change.

_

The days pass slowly, time becoming warped and useless with the lack of natural light or other time-telling devices. From the best he can tell, it’s been a few days already. Each day is spent simply. Ra’s visits regularly and he talks at him, sometimes managing to coax him into participating in conversation. New books appear almost every day, as well as little hand puzzles, made of plastic and of no use for escape.

The walls are too high – he can’t reach them, by jumping or climbing or anything. They’re too thick – can’t be broken with what he has access to. There are no guards to trick and Ra’s is too smart for any kind of attempt at such.

And Tim has learned that not following Ra’s commands leads to painful results. The man hasn’t asked for anything drastic, but it took a while before Tim finally gave in and slipped into the water. Ra’s likes it when he does so in front of him, saying he enjoys studying the transition.

There are no towels in his cage, so it’s hard for Tim to dry off. The furs work well enough for his body, but not for his hair. So no matter how much he wants it to change, to stop being that scarlet color, he can’t do anything about it.

Tim’s sitting on the furs, knees up and resting his chin on them, while he runs his hands over his smooth shins. He supposes he should thank the man for being so considerate as to hide the toilet in the rock, but the fact that he has to use the waterfall as a shower overpowers that.

Never has his privacy been so violated.

The glass does nothing to help him. Instead it amplifies the feeling of being watched.

He doesn’t cry, but he does bury his face in the pillows.

_

Jason had been minding his own business when they had shown up. Fuck, he hadn’t even killed anyone today! But there they were.

And Jason immediately wonders where Tim was. But he pushes that thought from his mind.

At least Bruce hadn’t joined them.

“What do you want?”

Dick steps forward, “J, we… we need your help.”

He snorts, “My help? Why would you need help from the reject Robin?”

Dick frowns, obviously distressed by the nickname, “J, please, it’s about… Red Robin.”

“Yeah?” Jason eyes the brat, wary, “What about the Replacement?”

“He’s gone, J.”

No one moves for a minute.

“Gone how?” Jason frowns.

“Tt. Fool. What he’s trying to say is that he’s been kidnapped. And we can’t find him. So we need your help tracking him down.” Damian’s sneer is angry, but somehow half-hearted.

And Jason’s heart lurches, “ _What_?”

“Are you deaf?” Dick covers Damian’s mouth with one hand.

“Look, J, we understand if you don’t want to help. But please, if you could just… give us anything you may have, we would appreciate it.”

Jason crosses his arms and runs his thumb over his chest holster, “How long has he been gone?”

“…4 days, 13 hours.”

“Fuck,” Jason sighs and scuffs his foot, “Fine. But we do this my way.”

The way Dick’s face lights up is obvious, not at all hidden by the mask. And surprisingly, the demon brat’s posture relaxes slightly.

“Let’s do this.”


	3. Free Mermaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom comes in the form of a blaze. A blaze of fire and a blaze of a man.

It’s been… A week? A week and a half? Maybe.

Tim’s hardly sure of anything anymore. His face is in his hands, but those hands move up to instead tug fiercely at his hair.

The last time Ra’s had been in was about two days ago, as far as Tim can estimate. He’d acted so morose and regretful, telling Tim he’d be back in a few days, but he had business to attend to that needed a personal touch.

Tim doesn’t know how much of his story was true, but Ra’s hadn’t been in to talk with him for a while. The mechanism that brought him food didn’t involve people.

Tim had been alone for who knows how long.

His forehead on his knees, Tim continues to pull at his hair.

It’s not really the whole being alone part of things that’s the most upsetting. He’s used to being alone. But he doesn’t have anything to do, here. Sure, there’s the books and puzzles that he was provided but those were of Ra’s choice and not his own. The topics weren’t stimulating, likely an attempt to bore him enough to be more willing to talk to Ra’s. The puzzles were also only interesting for a short time.

The water is also too shallow and too restricted to swim freely, likely also an attempt to control Tim’s movements and ability to exercise.

Tim squeezes his eyes shut and berates himself.

What would his mother say about this?

Gods, she’d be so disappointed.

His heart breaks a little bit.

_

Tim blinks awake, wondering when he’d fallen asleep. He rubs his eyes and wonders what woke him.

There’s an odd sound and Tim looks to the door.

What’s going on, he wonders.

There’s silence for a bit and then the sound again, a bit louder this time.

An… Explosion?

Tim blinks and then his eyes widen. Could it be?

Hope explodes in his chest before he can smother it and he can only wait.

He doesn’t have to wait long.

_

The door explodes inward, pieces scattering around the room and bouncing off the glass of his cage.

Tim’s in the water, hands pressed against the glass and he almost gasps to see Jason stride into the room.

They had a tentative relationship, as far as he knew. He was, admittedly, attracted to the man. Practically since his stint as Robin. But while his attempts at amicability were generally rebuffed, Jason had gotten… _kinder_ in a sense. More likely to listen, more willing to give snarky remarks, and so on.

But to see him here made something flutter in his chest.

And that feeling freezes when he realizes his situation.

Jason is staring at his glass prison in obvious horror.

But when his eyes turn to Tim there’s surprise and Tim wonders – Wait, perhaps he wasn’t informed of his… _condition_.

Tim looks away and tucks a lock of his flaming scarlet hair behind an ear insecurely.

“Baby bird?”

Tim looks up again and wow, how fast did Jason have to move to get this close so suddenly –

“It is you,” Jason’s hand touches the glass, the opposite side from where Tim’s other hand is still resting. His mouth turns up in a roguish grin, “Never took you for a ginger, baby bird.”

Tim frowns, he’s not pouting. He’s frowning.

Jason laughs, “Sorry, sorry. Now’s not really the time for it, though. It’s more time for getting you out of here.” He takes a couple steps back and looks around. Before long he nods and goes for his grapple.

Tim also backs up, seeing where he’s going with this.

Jason palms his grapple and prepares for throwing it, “Ready?”

“Yeah,” Tim nods even as he hoarsely responds.

It’s an almost perfect throw, and Tim stumbles a bit trying to catch it, trying to work against the water that goes up to his ribs. Grapple in hand he makes for one of the platforms. Once on, he turns and looks for a place to attach the grapple. But a quick glance shows a blushing Jason averting his eyes.

Tim suddenly remembers what he’s wearing, and his face practically bursts into flames.

The biggest problem is that the loincloth is _white_ and though the fabric is thick enough to avoid any… _flashes_ , it’s not exactly _decent_.

He clears his throat and fires the grapple at a protrusion on the ceiling. He hits the recoil and as he goes up, he steps up along the glass wall of his former cage.

Once out and on the other side, he hits reverse and steps onto marble floors. Release and recoil buttons and the grapple is ready to go.

“Are you here by yourself?” Tim asks as the grapple retracts and is surprised when Jason hands him his jacket.

There’s still a touch of red on his cheeks, and probably on Tim’s, too, but he’s trying to ignore it. So Tim hands Jason the grapple and puts on the coat.

“Nah, big bird’s here, too. B and demon brat are elsewhere causing a distraction.” Jason gently grabs his elbow and leads him towards the door. “We don’t have much more time, we gotta get out.” A touch to his earpiece, “Nightwing, package retrieved – “ Tim scowls “ – get out of here.”

It doesn’t take too much to get out of the mansion, but when they get outside, Tim flinches when his bare feet hit the rocky ground.

Without much hesitation and to Tim’s great surprise, Jason scoops him up into his arms and makes a run for a nearby helicopter. Dick’s inside, just starting it up, and only glances at them when they enter to confirm it’s them.

Soon they’re in the air and on their way away from Ra’s’ mansion.

Minutes have passed, and Tim finally gets over the fact that they came for him and he’s free – and realizes he’s still in Jason’s arms.

He blinks and looks up at Jason. Jason looks down and blinks.

They both blush and immediately separate, falling onto different seats. They look away from each other out opposite windows and Dick calls back, “Everything okay back there?”

“Just focus on flying, big bird,” Jason huffs gruffly.

_

They make it home after a long while, after three pilot changes and Dick’s attempt at composure after seeing Tim in his… _outfit_.

Tim practically runs to his room. He _needs_ to shower. To get rid of the smell of salt that he’d never thought he’d come to dislike. To get rid of the feel of that _cage_.

He left Jason and Dick in the cave, but he hopes they understand.

At that thought, Tim realizes that he’s still wearing Jason’s coat. He pauses at this, stopping on the way to the bathroom.

He… He blushes at a thought, but…

He fights his embarrassment and brings the collar of the jacket up to his nose. It smells realitively clean, with just a hint of gunpowder and… something else.

It’s almost comforting.

Actually, it is.

Tim finds himself breathing a bit easier.

He reluctantly strips the jacket off and lays it on his bed. He takes off the loincloth with much less reverence, tossing it to the floor to be burned later.

He’s all dry, so his hair shows a glaring white in the mirror as he enters the bathroom. For a moment, he lets the memories of his childhood flow over him, remembering but not lingering.

He averts his eyes from the mirror.

Time for that shower.

_

It’s a few days later. He’d been left alone for the most part, just having to deal with some check-ups and lots of hugs from Dick. Otherwise, he didn’t think they really knew what to do.

He could tell that they were worried but didn’t know how to approach him.

Well, Dick and Bruce were worried. Bruce was too awkward, though, and Dick just tried to smother him.

He hadn’t seen Jason since he left him in the cave the other day when they returned.

He’s been staying at the manor ever since, Bruce, Dick, and Alfred not willing to let him out of their sight yet.

Alfred, at least, has known what to do. Offering a comforting hand on the shoulder, quiet words and hot coffee, and silent companionship.

He still thinks about Jason, though. His jacket his still on his bed.

And _no_ , he didn’t _sleep_ with it curled in his arms, _thank you_.

It’s the beginning of the evening, so the house is empty except for Alfred, aside from himself. He’s lying on his bed, looking through some reports on a tablet when he hears a knock on his window.

Confused, he gets up and goes to the window.

There’s no one there. He waits.

A gloved hand comes up and knocks again.

Is that…?

Tim steps forward and opens the window.

“Jason?”

There’s a large tree not too far from his window, but the closest branch isn’t the steadiest thing. But Jason doesn’t seem to be having too much trouble. He waves, “Hey birdie.”

He ignores the nickname, “What are you doing here?”

Jason shrugs, “Just checking in.”

Tim’s chest flutters a bit again, but it’s not immediately followed by another emotion so it lingers. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

There’s a bit of an awkward silence.

“You know, Alfred would let you in,” Tim says quietly.

Jason shrugs again and doesn’t answer that. “So, they keeping you caged up in there?”

The corner of Tim’s lips quirk at that, despite the twitch his heart made at the word, “I suppose you could say that.”

“Come out to play, little bird,” Jason chuckles and reaches out a hand invitingly. “I’ll take you away from your cage.”

The quirk of lips turns into a smile, “Sure.”

A small pause, “But I’m going through the door, not a window.”

Jason laughs.


End file.
